All-InSample

Who Are You?

Kerry O’Neill

SET:

While Bill Russell was playing with the NBA champion Boston Celtics, he was once stopped in an airport and asked if he was a basketball player. He replied, “No, basketball is what I do, not who I am.” Competing is what you do, not who you are.

Who you are must be bigger than any role in your life. Confusing your role with your identity will have a couple of negative results. First, you will be tempted to link your value as a person to your performances. You will play horribly and think you have lost your value. Second, the loss of your role can be devastating if you equate your role with your identity, if you think people value you only when you compete.

Define who you are beyond what you do. Ultimately, to know who you are you must know whose you are. You belong to the Lord and are valuable because He created you. Yes, it hurts to perform poorly and to lose a big game, but your performances do not define who you are.

You are not a competitor who just happens to be a Christian; you are a Christian who just happens to be a competitor.

GO:

1. How have you let what you do define who you are?

2. Do you feel like you have more personal worth after a win or less after a loss? Should you?

3. How can God’s view of you change the way you compete and live?

WORKOUT:

1 Peter 2:9

1 Corinthians 6:19–20

2 Corinthians 5:17

Colossians 3:2–4

OVERTIME:

"Father, help me remember who I am and whose I am, and that my value is greater than any role or performance. Amen."